1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to live recovery storage structures for holding bulk material and methods of manufacture thereof.
2. The Relevant Technology
The large storage of bulk materials, such as grains and powders, has included some systems that provide substantially all of the material in a live recovery scheme. “Live recovery” means that at least a substantial portion of the bulk material can freely flow from the storage system under the force of gravity. The benefit of this system is that the bulk material can be rapidly dispensed from the system such as for filling ships or other transport vehicles. Live recovery systems are in contrast to reclaimer type systems where a substantial portion of the bulk material must be mechanically removed from the system. In reclaim type systems, the rate of dispensing is limited by the capacity of the reclaimer.
Depicted in FIG. 1 is one embodiment of a conventional live recovery storage system for bulk materials. The system includes a structure 10 bounding a holding chamber 12. Structure 10 includes opposing side walls 14 and 16 that outwardly slope in opposing directions so as to form a substantially V-shaped funnel. The funnel feeds to a hopper 18 that communicates with a tunnel 20. In view of the sloping configuration of side walls 14, 16, all of the bulk material stored within holding chamber 12 of structure 10 freely flows to hopper 18 for dispensing into or onto a transport vehicle within tunnel 20.
Although conventional live recovery storage systems are effective, they have a number of drawbacks. For example, because side walls 14 and 16 are outwardly sloping and support the weight of the bulk material, they must have a substantial amount of lateral support. As such, structure 10 is constructed with a large outwardly sloping earthen bank 22 being formed against each side wall 14 and 16. Earthen banks 22 support the side walls 14, 16 in their desired orientation and enable the side walls to withstand the applied loads of the bulk material. Earthen banks 22, however, can be expensive to erect and can occupy a significant amount of valuable space.